Dear Mr. Degitis,
I would like you to be informed that I do in believe in God. I was raised catholic. That being sId, there is a lot of religious strife in my family. I have mormons, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, baptist and Church of England all existing in the same household. My anger or confusion with religion is not the confusion of the lord.
My question is this. If the lord of god is true than why is there so much debate. Why is there a religion who views the exact opposite of the Catholic Church and why do they both claim to be right? If god sent a message to Muhammad and to Joseph Smith, why are the two "words of god" so different. If god truly sent angels to portray his word, why is the word different. Why would God contradict himself? Why would a messenger lie about the word of god and create a religion?
I guess what I'm saying is, his do we know the truth when the documented truth is different from other documents of the truth. One has to be wrong, how do we determine that?
(Response)
Thank you for your questions, they are very good ones. I'm even going to put them on the blog. ;)
As always, I will answer them to the best of my ability. What you choose to do with the answers is up to you.
First off, I'm glad to hear that amidst all the religious debate in your home, your confusion isn't about the Lord. That is some impressive clarity. However, as you well know, and appropriately pointed out for that matter, the world does not necessarily share in your understanding. There is still a great deal of debate. The reasons behind this debate are pretty complicated though. I think that, as humans, we are naturally confrontational when it comes to issues over who is right and wrong. If we were to truly speculate as to why, it probably stems from our innate survival mechanisms. We are hard wired to trust our instincts because, for much of our history, instincts are what kept the "fit" alive. From an evolutionary standpoint, if we were too easily swayed, then we were doomed to die with everybody else making terrible decisions. But if there is something inside of us, telling us to go our own way, then if we are right, we survive while others do not. Unfortunately, this internal sense of right has carried itself way beyond our survival mechanisms, and we have become a people that believe we are right about everything, no matter the circumstances. This is one potential reason for the amount of debate surrounding religion.
The second reason for debate, and probably the more prominent one, at least in today's society, stems from the fact that we have grown accustomed to a mentality that supports our "right" to change whatever we do not like. Ultimately, following any religion has its complications and challenges, so in a number of circumstances we have sought out ways to fit religion into our lifestyle, not the other way around. Essentially, we live in a world where people have created new religions because they didn't like the ones that existed, or they have decided that they only believe in certain parts of currently existing religions because those are the parts that fit so nicely into their lives. They get to keep doing what they're doing because their "version" of their religion says it's okay. If we really looked at the foundation of every religion, there would be a lot less debate because they agree on a number of principles. The problem is that we have taken the liberty of manipulating those principles to better fit our lives and in the process we have created over 7 billion answers to one question (what is the truth???) so of course there is going to be debate.
Regarding the next question about opposing beliefs and messages to Mohammad or Joseph Smith, the answer is a little simpler. When two religions oppose one another, the only logical conclusion is that one of them is right or neither of them is right. They can't both be right. And since they can't both be right, we are left with the fact that only one of them (or neither of them) were actually divinely inspired. In other words, God did not send down contradictory messages. He only sent down one, and the other is a farce. It is made up.
Now, as to why a messenger would lie, this is where things get a little bit more exciting. At the heart of the issue, the answer is that they probably didn't like their current options, so they created new ones. However, it is probably a little more complicated than that. In fact, there could be a whole slue of reasons why someone would lie and create a religion. They might do it for fame, notoriety, wealth, moral liberty, or even because they are crazy. And the truth of the matter is that being at the forefront of a religion provides you all these things. As human beings, we are constantly searching for something tangible to worship, and the inevitable result of that is that we often worship those who are supposedly leading us to the truth. It happens all the time. It is why pastors find themselves in trouble, why colt followings develop, and why the Israelites worshipped the golden calf. I think that we love God, but we really struggle with not being able to tangibly see Him on a daily basis.
So how do we find the truth? Well, we look at the history, we do the research, we follow our instincts, and we examine what is most reasonable. There are a lot of versions of "the truth" out there, but unfortunately, many of them are in direct opposition to one another. Consequently, you are completely right, only one of them can be correct, or the actual truth. Or none of them... we cannot forget that that remains an option. In lieu of this, all we can really do is dig deep into the research, establish what is most logical, and go from there. We won't know for sure, and that is okay; it doesn't mean there isn't an answer. And ultimately, if we follow the good, I think we will find the truth there. And if we remove ourselves from the equation, if we stop trying to manipulate everything to benefit us, if we step back and realize that we could be wrong, then we might just get that much closer to finding what is right. Seeking the truth is an ongoing process, but it is one that is worth while. Remember, the truth will set us free.
Thanks, and great questions.
MRD
